The Great Austin Burger Hunt

Posse East
2900 Duval St


My wife has raved about this place for years. When I first started the Great Austin Burger Hunt, she suggested it. When her boss decided to take her to lunch there, I tagged along. Posse East is on the edge of the UT campus. It has been around for 40 years and is a well-known campus watering hole. It has kind of a rustic appearance, and it sits on an inconvenient corner, which makes parking hard, but with a 40 year history, obviously they are doing something right.

I ordered my usual, a cheeseburger and fries, and of course had them leave off the pickles, onions and tomatoes. You can get a selection of cheeses and this time I chose Cheddar. That keeps it closer to the other burgers I have reviewed, though I might choose Swiss Cheese the next time. This is the sort of place where you pick up your order when they call your name, but it is small enough that isn't a problem.

The burger arrived on a seeded bun, with green leaf lettuce and mustard, with a pile of fries beside it. The burger was not the juiciest I have had....how exactly do you say that I burger was not juicy without giving the impression that it was dry? I am not sure I have a good answer, but that is what I am trying to express. From a juicy-ness standpoint it was okay, but not great. In fact, from a taste standpoint, the meat was okay, but not great. The cheese was good, but not enough to really improve the burger all that much. The bun was good, but nothing terribly special. The lettuce was okay, except that by the end of the second bite it had wilted so completely that I took it off.

I think I did it again. I have given a review that seems to say that the burger was bad. Well, it wasn't, but it didn't stand out. It was a burger. It was even a good burger. It was not a great burger. It was not memorable. It was also rather light on condiments. Next time, I will try adding a bit of mayo and a bit more mustard and see if that helps.

But, the fries more than made up for any deficiency in the burger (and there wasn't really anything to make up for). The fries were some of the best I have ever had. They almost looked like they had a light batter on them. They were incredibly crispy, with almost a little crust on them. They were perfectly salted and delicious. I cannot speak highly enough of the fries. Far and away the best fries of any of the place I have reviewed.

I will not be putting Posse East at the top of my Best Burger List, but it might go at the top of the Best Fries List and that might be enough of a reason to visit Posse East again. I certainly won't be afraid to order a burger, but it will be the fries that I will truly be looking forward to.